Новости за 17.11.2020

On Sunday, as Covid-19 cases in Michigan surged, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced a new set of temporary restrictions on certain indoor gatherings and activities. The three-week pandemic order will shutter bowling alleys and movie theaters while leaving childcare facilities and in-person learning for preschool through eighth grade open. In response, White House coronavirus task force adviser Dr. Scott Atlas—who, it should be noted, specializes in radiology, not virology—tweeted, “The only way this stops is if people rise up. Читать дальше...

In 2012, Factual, a Los Angeles–based technology company, had world-conquering ambitions. Intoxicated by the utopian rhetoric surrounding the growing field of big data, it planned to collect unprecedented amounts of information, enabling it “to identify every fact in the world,” as a New York Times profile put it. Whether cataloging types of cigars or tracking the specialties of America’s doctors, Factual was creating a Borgesian library of all the bits and bytes describing our world, promising... Читать дальше...

As his feud with Fox News has intensified—and as his pathetic attempt to overturn a legitimate election becomes more harebrained—Donald Trump has drifted further and further into the fringes. Newsmax and One America News Network, both possible homes for the president come January 20, have usurped Fox’s place in the president’s heart. Gateway Pundit has usurped the Drudge Report, Real Clear Politics, and Breitbart. Trump’s postpresidency—and his rumored 2024 presidential campaign—will be rooted in the fever swamps of right-wing media. Читать дальше...

Donald Trump’s presidency could only ever have ended one way, but there was still a certain flubby majesty to how it happened. As the outcome of the election became clearer and more irrefutable—as the votes were counted in the maddening, analog, rather inspiringly effective way that votes are counted, and as cities and towns across the country erupted into giddy street celebrations after the election was called decisively for Biden—Trump and his campaign began a wild-eyed public speedrun through the stages of grief. Читать дальше...

Billionaire Charles Koch—who, alongside his late brother, is best known for funding a host of conservative and libertarian think tanks, donating lavishly to Republicans, and otherwise flooding the political system with dark money—recently spoke to The Wall Street Journal in order to express some regret over a few of his past political activities (and promote a forthcoming book, as one does). He was, he told the Journal, now steering away from hard-line partisanship and hoping to work with the... Читать дальше...

South Dakota currently ranks second in the nation for Covid-19 cases, and first in hospitalizations. On Saturday, the state reported its highest daily death total of the year. Yet, as of writing, Republican Governor Kristi Noem has refused to take action in response to the uncontrolled spread in her state, rejecting measures as simple and effective as a mask mandate. She described her decision to dig in on mass death as a matter of good manners and mutual respect. “If folks want to wear a mask... Читать дальше...

Among the major issues that the Supreme Court could weigh in on over the next few months is the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed nearly a quarter-million Americans since March and now rages uncontrolled throughout most of the country. Last week, the Roman Catholic Church’s Brooklyn diocese asked the justices to block new restrictions issued by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in what could be a key first test of how Justice Amy Coney Barrett will handle these cases. Beyond that, the court’s... Читать дальше...

The Fukushima Daiichi meltdown in Okuma, Japan, on March 11, 2011, was one of the worst nuclear disasters in history. Some of the impacts can be easily quantified: 150,000 people were evacuated due to the threat of radioactivity, a forced migration that resulted in some 2,600 deaths; a full cleanup could take $70 billion and more than 40 years; 100 cubic meters of groundwater become contaminated at Fukushima every day; according to Greenpeace, radiation levels near reopened areas reach 30 times the recommended exposure levels. Читать дальше...

Last week, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that their vaccine is more than 90 percent effective at preventing Covid-19, which was followed on Monday by Moderna declaring that its vaccine is 94.5 percent effective at preventing symptomatic cases and seems to reduce the severity of cases. Although experts heralded the promising results, they also cautioned that developing effective vaccines is just one part of the picture. After these vaccines are ready for the public—which will take months—the next... Читать дальше...